Cleburne schools

May 29, 2013

High school seniors who still need to pass one or two TAKS tests to graduate can get free tutoring this summer.

The Fort Worth Can Academy is offering the tutoring to any student at any school that failed one or two portions of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills standardized test, preventing the from graduating this spring.

Parents, grandparents, students and teachers: post your experiences and photos from the first day of school using the hashtag #FirstBell. And don't forget to include the name of the school and/or location in your tweet.

Tweets with the #FirstBell hashtag may be used by the Star-Telegram online or in print.

The Star-Telegram is running a contest, giving folks to participate the chance win a backpack filled with school supplies, Mom2Mom gear and 4 tickets to the Movie Tavern.

February 06, 2009

It's a page-turner in Cleburne that is building toward a climax for Monday's school board meeting.

Pillars of the Earth, a novel by Ken Follett, has been on the required reading list for honors English at Cleburne High School for years, but a group of concerned parents have recently objected to passages in the book that they believe are too sexual and violent in nature. They believe the book should be removed from the required-reading list, but not from the library.

Supporters of the book have rallied for its continued inclusion on the required reading list. With strong feelings on both sides and people prepared to offer their opinions, the plot thickens for Monday's 6 p.m. Cleburne school board meeting.

October 17, 2008

The Texas Education Agency has assigned a monitor to the Cleburne school district, just a few months after the agency ruled that Cleburne had to pay back about $362,000 in federal funds.

The district made the announcement about the monitor on its Web site. The notice says the new monitor, Monte Geren, will "guide the actions of the school district in regaining financial integrity."

In July, TEA auditors found that the district had misspent or not properly justified the spending about $362,000 in federal funds. The audit followed complaints by citizens.

On the Web site, Cleburne Superintendent Ronny Beard said he welcomes the monitor's presence.

"Dr. Geren will be a valuable asset as CISD works to develop a plan to correct the issues identified during the audit," Beard said in the district's announcement. "We are working hard to earn TEA's trust once again and Dr. Geren will be a tremendous help in accomplishing this goal."

May 09, 2008

If you waiting to hear the Cleburne school district's' answer to the highly critical state audit report of the its federal spending, don't hold your breath. District officials, who initially intended to publically discuss their response to auditors at their May 12 board meeting, now say they'll wait until after a May 14 meeting with auditors in Austin. Then they'll make a power point presentation _ probably at a May 20 meeting _ to summarize their 2,000-page response to TEA. You heard it right _ 2,000 pages to respond to a 156-page TEA report. The public will be able to read part of it on the district website. For the more detailed documents, however. you'lll have to examine them at district ofices. We can hardly wait.

April 22, 2008

Inflatable alligators. Skeet shooting. Trips to Mexico. All funded by your federal tax dollars. But wait a minute. The Texas Education Agency said the Cleburne school district will have to repay those and other expenditures -- to the tune of $367,000 -- unless school officials can convince the agency they are allowable. Read all about it in Wednesday’s Star-Telegram.

April 10, 2008

Warlick will serve until the board finds a replacement for Robert Damron, who stepped down last week after trustees learned that a preliminary state audit report was more negative than they had been led to believe.

Board President Stu Madison said it will be up to Warlick to determine how to use Damron, whose request to be reassigned until his July 1 retirement was granted by the board last week. Warlick will also decide whether any action should be taken against other staff members named in the Texas Education Agency report, he said.

Green roofs probably would sprout around the Metroplex if more role models were available to show documented benefits. Enter the University of Texas at Arlington.

On Friday, volunteers from UTA will install an experimental green roof on a 1,000-square-foot section of the Life Science Building, 501 S. Nedderman Drive. The project includes the installation of the enhanced roofing system, irrigation, plants and about 30,000 pounds of soil.

Although this will be the first green roof on the campus, university officials say that future buildings will include structures designed and built with green roofs, which contribute to energy savings -- they have an insulating effect -- and improve air quality because the vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and emits oxygen.

A green roof isn't possible on every building, but the potential is intriguing. We hope that UT-Arlington's experiment will provide a viable and positive model for more such applications in the region.